View of semi-trailer in contact with train cars - Date/Photographer unknown.

9 June 2012

Railway Sues for Plummer Minnesota Cleanup Costs After March Derailment

Plummer Minnesota USA - Everything is back to normal for Plummer, Minnesota, residents after a train was derailed 31 Mar 2012, spilling 30,000 gallons of the petroleum product aromatic concentrate.
 
But one question remains:  who will pay for the cleanup?
 
Soo Line Railroad Co., a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway, filed a complaint in Minnesota U.S. District Court on 3 May 2012 against Werner Enterprises, the owner of the truck, seeking reimbursement for costs incurred.
 
The train was derailed along U.S. Highway 59, south of Plummer, after a tractor-trailer struck a Canadian Pacific Railway train, puncturing a tanker car and killing the truck's 65-year-old driver, Dale Buzzell of Isanti, Minnesota.
 
A total cleanup cost is unknown, according to CP spokesman Ed Greenberg, but "costs will be substantial," he said.
 
The complaint alleges Werner was negligent in its duties to supervise Buzzell. As a result, "CP has incurred substantial costs, including environmental cleanup and monitoring."
 
Lawyers for Werner answered the complaint 14 May 2012, asking to dismiss it and award Werner attorneys' fees and costs.
 
A pre-trial conference is scheduled for 2 Jul 2012 at 10:30 a.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota.
 
Cleanup Effort
 
Cleanup crews finished moving the contaminated soil in May, moving it from the accident location to a secure site one mile south of town. Treatment and disposal of the soil is set to wrap up the end of June, with up to 20 crew members still on location, Greenberg said.
 
"It was important to make sure we were being proactive even though we weren't the responsible party," Greenberg said. "We wanted to make sure we were moving forward with an appropriate remediation and cleanup process."
 
There are no health or environmental issues at the site or location where the soil is being treated, he said.
 
To treat the contaminated soil, Greenberg said it is first loaded on a conveyer and moved inside the treating machine. The soil is heated to temperatures ranging from 1,000 to 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit.
 
The incinerated soil is then re-hydrated with water and tested to ensure it is clean. The clean soil is then trucked to a landfill.
 
The entire treatment process takes 15 to 25 minutes, he said.
 
Back to Normal
 
More than two months after the accident, all that remains near the train tracks is fresh dirt and straw. The cleanup effort was done so quickly and quietly, some Plummer residents barely noticed the large trucks, tractors, and extra people in town, except for Cindy Jaeger-Arlt, owner of Li'l Joe's Cafe.
 
Jaeger-Arlt made lunch every day for up to 50 crew members in April, which helped keep her restaurant open. She planned on closing it at the end of April.
 
"It was a tragic little accident, but it helped our little town," said Jaeger-Arlt.
 
She said the eight to 12 crew members she continues to serve call in their orders and pick them up every day.
 
"They are the nicest people I've worked with in eight years," she said.
 
Mayor Jim Kelley said the cleanup efforts were barely noticeable. He said it went smoothly and thinks the crews did a good job.
 
"They were very concerned about the chemicals," Kelley said. "They seem to know what they are doing and have had plenty of help out there."
 
Kelley said CP representatives held a public meeting for residents and mailed information to each household in town shortly after the accident to help settle any concerns.
 
Ron Linder, of Plummer, agreed with Kelley and said the cleanup went very smoothly. He only noticed the efforts when he took his regular trips to Erskine, Minnesota.
 
Highway 59 was blocked off after the accident, with drivers taking a 22-mile detour. The highway reopened 18 May 2012, according to Karen Bedeau, public affairs coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
 
The extra mileage didn't bother him, but at the end of the day, Linder said, "I would hate to pay that bill."
 
An autopsy report on Buzzell ruled the cause of death as accidental, according to Mary Derosier, administrative assistant for the Red Lake County Medical Examiner. She said Buzzell suffered blunt force trauma due to the collision. No information was given as to why he collided with the train.
 
T.J. Jerke.

A collision between a semi-trailer and a CP train spilled around 30,000 gallons of a petroleum product into a ditch alongside U.S. Highway 59 - Date unknown Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.